Council To Amend Old Medical Marijuana Ordinance After Petition Stops New One

A group named Let Lansing Vote organized a petition drive which successfully suspended the city’s new medical marijuana ordinance. They submitted an estimated 6,400 signatures to the City Clerk’s office Friday.

This means the old ordinance from 2011 is back in effect, and now City Council plans to amend it so it’s up to date with current law.

Jake Rufenacht, owner of KIND dispensary signed the petition. He says that council is going to try to make the old ordinance match the new one that was suspended.

“ It’s a complete subversion of democracy, I mean it’s a joke. We just ran the referendum and got all the signatures against the 2017 ordinance, what the council is now going to do they are going to essentially rewrite that ordinance into the 2011 ordinance as an amendment and pass that.”

Council members will propose amendments to the old ordinance at tonight’s meeting at City Hall. They will also set a public hearing for October 30, with consideration of a final passage on November 15.

Lansing City Council approved a medical marijuana ordinance more than a week ago that sets the cap on the number of dispensaries at 25. With unofficial estimates putting the number of dispensaries in the city as high as 70, this has dispensary owners concerned.